We must understand the past to know who we are and where we are going... on this web page you will find the daily class agenda, historical resources, and, as a class we will analyze historical events and discuss our thoughts on a variety of issues both in history and current events. You will be able to read your classmates comments, and respond to their thoughts and ask other questions regarding history that you may have.

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

WWI REFLECTION QUESTION

Could World War One Have Been Prevented? Why or Why Not? Justify Your Answer.

9 comments:

Yes, I think that world war one could have been prevented. The only reason they went to war was because of one man being killed. I know that Arch Duke Franz Ferdinan was important, but he wasn't worth starting a whole war over. He was a good leader, but why did all those countries have to get involved. It could have only been the two countries. All the others just took sides. I don't think that countries should go to war just to defend an allie. They can support them and give them supplies, but I see no reason why they should go to war. All it does is get more people killed and have more economies crash. If World War One was prevented than all the economies that crashed after wouldn't have and then WWII won't have been possible and Adolf Hittler might have never came into power. That would have saved a lot of lives and lots of money. The War cost so much money for each country and for what? Just to get revenge on one person being killed. I don't think it was worth it. I also so think that it was 100% preventable and I hope that if a problem like that evers comes up again it will be solved in a differnt way. NOT WAR!

I think it's truly hard to say "if" WWI could have prevented. There are so many "if" questions that its very difficult to say if one event hadn't happened, then WWI wouldn't have happened. Yes, you can look at it as any war could have and can be prevented, because it depends on all the events and conflicts that lead up to it. But this question is for the opinions of the prevention of WWI, so my answer follows. There were many events and conflicts that started WWI, and I wouldn't blame WWI solely on the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand. Just because he was killed it wasn't the only reason for the war. Before the Arch Duke was even killed, there was tension brewing...the assasination just added to the conflicts, maybe putting people's actions over the top, contributing to the start of the war. There were three main reasons that contributed to the start of WWI, they were: nationalism, imperialism, and alliances. All the countries had stong, national pride for their countries and thought their countries were strong forces. Each country believed they were the best or the "top dog". With imperialism, every country was trying to expand and make their empires bigger. (Along with their armies too.) And finally, alliances were made, so countries had certain obligations to one another. The countries in alliances had to trust each other.I think the final breaking point was the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, but it was NOT the ONLY reason for the war.So could WWI have been prevented?? I truly don't know because nobody knows what "could" have happened. I guess my answer would be that WWI could not have been prevented because tension had been brewing because of all different reasons. WWI didn't happen because of just one event- the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand. Everyone and each country had different views of what took place. Nationalism, imperialism, and alliances were the main contributors to the start of WWI. Wars do not happen because of one single event, there are many causes and one effect. CAUSES(Conflicts)=WAR.

Yes, I do think that World War One could have been prevented because the whole reason the war started was because of a group of men that didn't agree with Franz Ferdinand's beliefs. If someone would have watched that group more carefully maybe the whole war wouln't have been started. Also I think it is strange that so many people were killed because of the actions of Princip's decisions. I think that World War 1 greatly shows the affect one person can have on the entire war.

It is hard to say if World War 1 could have been prevented. Yes, we say that this all happened because of the assaination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinan. This event lead to a chain of events such as the depression and World War 2. Arch Duke was killed just for the fact of that a few people didn't agree with his plans in how to rule his country. The people then spread it on and began to start a huge conflict. They didn't have to make it bigger and bigger, when this could have been such a small deal. Unfortuneatly it obviously didn't turn out at this. When the plans of the Arch Duke and his wife change Princip and the other people part of the plan just sort of gave up. But then a 'cowincidence' happened where the driver took the 'wrong turn' onto the exact road that princep was on and thats when him and Shopie were killed. What I think is that this war in particular could have been prevented. But I am also trying to state my point in which that another war could have been started in replacement of this one for another reason. This war occured because of an assaination, which could have been handled in a much more settle way rather than a war. But unfortunaltly that is not the was it was decided to be handled. My point is that this war didn't have to be started but another war for another reason could have possibly happen. For sure though World War 2 and the depressioin coudl have been prevent only if the assainiation wouldn't have been settled the way it did.

I think that World War One may have been prevented. The murder of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand was very important in starting the war. It actually was an event that started the war. If he wasn't murdered, I believe that World War One could have been prevented. All events lead to another, though. If Franz Ferdinand wasn't killed, then maybe something else could have happened that could have started World War One. Countries always have arguments with each other. I think that World War One would have ended up happening even if Franz Ferdinand wasn't murdered. The war may not have started at the same time. It could have more or less casualties. There could be more or less countries involved. Because every event in history leads up to another, it is hard to say if there would not be a World War One if Franz Ferdinand wasn't killed. Maybe if the countries originally involved in the war handled World War One differently, it wouldn't have become a World War. Some of the countries involved didn't have to be. I can't say if World War One could have been prevented. It all depends on your point of view. I think that World War One would have ended up happening anyway, but for a different reason if Franz Ferdanand wasn't killed. There could be many different reasons for a world war. It all depends on how you handle a situation and how you respond to it. I don't believe that World War One was needed, but someone with a different point of view may think differently.

Great Answers So Far Ladies. Be Sure To Look Beyond Just The Assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand. Look Back to the Powder Keg Handout I Made For You. Remember The Duke Was the "SPARK" Not The Full Cause! Taking a Look At the If's In History Is An Important Part Of Understanding The Significance of History and Each Events Bearing on What Happened. First Decide, Of the Things In the Powder Keg Which Had More Weight On Starting the War, Then Decide IF Those Things Could Have Been Prevented and HOW!!!

I agree, World War One could have been prevented. It also could have been much worse than it was. So the answer in my opinion shares both answers. Just like Gabrielle said though, there are many "what if" questions. The reason that WW1 started was because of Militarism, allies, imperialism, and nationalism. Then the spark, the assationation of the Arch Duke, lead to all out war. I think that if Germany wasn't as powerful and single minded the war could have easily been prevented. Reasons being are Germany just tried to take away land from France, Britian, and Russia. I am not trying to blame this all on Germany, but they play a big role in the cause of the war.Also, the Bulkins Region had a huge effect on the cause of the war. Everyone wanted control of the Bulkin's Region because it had many resources and it was a piece of land that had an ideal location. This land was part of the part of the "explosives" that lead to a world war.Another thing that was part of the "explosives" was the two alliances that were created, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. The Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy while the Triple Entente was made of Britian, France and Russia. There were many other alliances but these two were the main two.The question of could the war have been prevented is hard to answer for me, because I think that if Germany wouldn't have tried to annoy France and Britian (which I think is bizare but it is how it worked) the war would have been either forgotten or it would have been delayed. I also think that WW1 was very nescisary because countries had their own reasons to fight and I am not saying that war is always the answer, but in this case with everyone fighting for the Bulkin's Region and Germany overpowering many other countries I would agree with the war happening. When Princip assatinated the Arch Duke, everyone just exploded and I can see why they did. Many contries had too much boiled up inside. There was really no stopping the war at this point.So to conclude, I think that if the contries tried hard enough the war could have been prevented, but most likely this war cold not have been prevented...just delayed.

To me, WWI could not have been prevented. There was but one death that was the "trigger" of the war. If not Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, then it would have been someone else. Maybe the situation would have changed. Instead of the killing giving Austria the courage to stand up to Serbia, it could have been the other way around. It depends on who kills who. People are full of anger and vengence behaivor. One wrong might not make a right and an eye for an eye may make the whole world blind, but man does not care. As long as there is "justice" for what was done they're happy. But what is "justice"? Jusice for one, may be unthinkable to another. It really doesn't matter if it was a Duke, a king, a queen, a prince, a princess, or anyone of power or who will shortly come to power. As long as there is man on Earth, there will always be conflicts. And if there is conflicts on Earth made by man, people will result in violence to "justify" a wrong doing even if what they do is not justice. It will always be done.

I think that the war could not have been prevented. There were many leading causes for the war. The Assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand is known as the trigger of the war. Had he not been murdered, someone else would have been and the war would have started. Since many things lead up to the war, anything could have happened. The war could not have been stopped.

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We can learn from history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how they solved their problems. We can learn by analogy, not by example, for our circumstances will always be different than theirs were. The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices and thus they determine future events.-Gerda Lerner

History, we can confidently assert, is useful in the sense that art and music, poetry and flowers, religion and philosophy are useful. Without it -- as with these -- life would be poorer and meaner; without it we should be denied some of those intellectual and moral experiences which give meaning and richness to life. Surely it is no accident that the study of history has been the solace of many of the noblest minds of every generation.-Henry Steele Commager

Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.-Robert F. Kennedy

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